But bosses at the fast-growing Sheffield firm, which makes stainless steel flanges, have their sights on an even more ambitious scheme – building a school in India.

The school would be built next to Hilton Metal Forging's factory near Mumbai, which lists Evenort among its stakeholders.

Evenort's general manager and director Craig McKay and his father Joe, a director of the Indian firm, will fly out to the site in the spring to discuss the plan's viability.

Mr McKay said: "We've now got a forge in India that's recently gone public limited and part of our business in the UK is as an agent for that company, Hilton Metal Forging.

"The factory over there has grown from nothing to employing close to 300, and it's still growing.

"The staff who work there now need the infrastructure that any other community would need so, as shops are developing, other things like schools and places of worship are required."

The school project is one of several exciting potential developments for a firm which employs 35 staff in Sheffield, boasts a £5m turnover and enjoys a strong market presence in China and throughout Europe.

Mr McKay said the company had drawn up a business plan for a subsidiary in France, which would cost about £500,000 to start up.

"We've done market research on our company and we've found that we've got a strong brand values relating to customer service," he said.

"We believe, whatever we sell, those brand values will transfer and, if we open up a place in France selling what we sell here, that could go very well for us.

"That would be an opportunity to grow the place in France, using Evenort in Sheffield as an entrepreneurial model."

Evenort is also working with The Welding Institute in Sheffield to develop an advanced stainless steel component, lined with an exotic material, which would boost the firm's in-house processes.

"We would get a quicker lead time to the customer, cheaper prices, and we wouldn't have to keep millions and millions of types of inventory," Mr McKay said.

"The Welding Institute link-up is a high-risk opportunity because we're not even sure if there's a market for that product.

"But, if there was a market for the product, we would really get some brilliant gains."

Keen to make further inroads into oil and gas markets, Evenort cannot be accused of failing to plan ahead; it has already booked a stand at an oil and gas exhibition to be held in Aberdeen in September 2009.

Mr McKay said: "It's already cost us £15,000 for the floorspace and the total bill will be closer to £40,000 once we've got the stand up. But it's important because, when the date comes in September 2009, we'll be representing ourselves and Hilton Metal Forging, and there is a lot of business to be had in Aberdeen."

The company also has plans to move into more exotic grades on the bar processing side of its business, as well as ambitions to expand product ranges in its flanges manufacturing.

Mr McKay said: "We've got plenty of new ideas and product range improvements planned, but the real issue for us is whether we've got the bottle to take all the opportunities that sit in front of us.

"These are wide and ranging; from high risk, high return to relatively straightforward risk, straightforward return opportunities.

"All these opportunities are sat in front of us; it's a case of deciding where we spend the limited amount of money we've got first."